Just a Number
by Mischievous Elf
Summary: "A number. That was all she was supposed to be... a number." When Aurora Shade turns out to be much more than just that, Finch and Reese agree to let her join the team. What will ensue when they realize that she may be just as clever and as devious as the two of them combined? Finch/OC. Rated T just to be safe.
1. 1 Strange Introductions

**Hello, my darling readers! I wanted to write a Person of Interest Fanfic because 1) I love the show and 2) I love Finch and thought he deserved a love interest. I don't have any idea of what the overall plot will be; I just wanted to do this for fun. This is my first attempt at writing from a third person POV, so if I make a mistake please tell me! Now, without further ado, here it is.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Person of Interest, or Finch, or Reese… Only Aurora Shade.**

* * *

A number. That was all she was supposed to be… a number. Just another victim they would have to help. No one could have guessed how invaluable she'd become, but she did. It wasn't even because they were attracted to her, no. It was her skills that set her apart from everyone else.

So, when she followed Mr. Reese due to a tracking device, they knew she was special; that she was unique. She was the girl whom they thought would vanish from their lives, their memories, just like everyone else; instead, she became their partner, their companion. Who would've known that she was merely a number when she first met the? Only a number…

~ * (*) * (*) * ~

Aurora Shade walks out of a run-down bar and grill. She pays no attention to the people in the alley as she passes by; she's far too interested in her phone to notice._Damn you, Quinn. You stood me up._ She hisses softly as she places it back in her red jeweled clutch. _That's_ when she notices the men following closely behind her; the three men dressed casually but well enough to appear professional. She turns slowly with an innocent smile playing on his lips.

"Can I help you?" she asks.

The one in the middle steps forward, obviously assuming the role of the leader. He gets right up in her face and sneers, "Actually, you can, doll."

"Oh, alright." she sighs with a frown. She shrugs gently as she hands over her clutch, playing oblivious to their _real_ intentions.

He looks at the purse briefly, considering if he should take it as a bonus for completing the job. He chuckles darkly, "I don't understand why he's going through so much trouble to get her, boys… She may as well be a child."

She rolls her eyes quickly as irritation sets in. _Obviously their employer didn't tell them a thing about me._ The man in front snatches her purse and that's when Aurora acts. She brings her foot up and kicks the man between the legs. He groans in agony as he crouches slightly. The other two are on her in an instant. One grabs her wrists, temporarily disabling the use of her arms. Aurora brings her four-inch heel down on his foot, causing him to cry out in pain. The man releases her, and she pushes him in the chest, knocking the other down as he stumbles and falls on top.

The fight proceeds for several minutes; Aurora staying one step ahead of them. Reese watches from behind the corner of the alley. _This is the girl I'm supposed to help? She's doing fine on her own._ He watches her intently, paying close attention to her every move. That's when he sees something she doesn't; the first man stands up behind her and slowly pulls out a gun. _Alright, time to move in_.

Reese rushes in and hits the man on his wrist. He drops the gun on impact and glares and Reese angrily. The men concentrating on Aurora see the commotion and start to gang up on him. She doesn't understand what's happening until she sees the man in the suit. He takes out two of them in no time. The last one moves in the attack, but Aurora grabs him from behind, placing him in a headlock. After a minute or so, the man goes limp in her arms and she lets him fall to the ground. She sighs softly, pinching the bridge of her nose. Her clutch comes into view as Reese holds in out for her.

"Thank you." she says, taking it back.

He takes a minute to look her over. He hides his slightly-amazed expression as he realizes that Aurora took on three men in a red cocktail dress and four-inch heels. The strap slides off her shoulder; her hair flies out of her elegant bun; her makeup smears in a way that still allows her to remain looking beautiful.

"It was nothing." he says simply.

Aurora smiles faintly at Reese before digging into her purse. She fidgets purposely, trying to lose her balance. As she falls and Reese catches her gently, she grabs a small device from her clutch. Aurora discreetly hides it on his suit jacket.

"Sorry." she mumbles.

Reese helps her stand up. She grabs her phone saying, "I should probably call for a ride. Thanks again, Mr.…"

"Reese." he supplies.

"Well, I'll see you around, Mr. Reese."

He smiles gently. "Sooner than you may think."

She watches him casually walk off. She smirks smugly, his final words ringing in her ears. "No, Mr. Reese. It'll be sooner than _you_ think." She taps on an app to pull up an enhanced map. A small blinking dot appears on the screen; a tracking device. _No one simply shows up out-of-the-blue with skills like that_-she muses. _Time to find out who you_ really_ are, Mr. Reese. _Aurora takes her heels off, following the rapidly moving dot through the city.

~ * (*) * (*) * ~

_What the hell is this? _Aurora finds herself looking up at an abandoned library. _He's in there?_ She glances back down at her phone; the moving speck has stopped inside the building. She sighs agitatedly as she looks back up at it in disbelief. She quickly looks around for any bystanders before heading in.

Aurora walks up a few flights of stairs, not risking a trip up in the elevator, and finally reaches a door. She pauses in front of it and presses her ear against the cool surface. She hears Reese's voice from inside, along with another male's. Footsteps get farther away from the door; that's when she decides to enter.

She slowly enters, trying not to make her presence known. She turns her head to the right to see a room covered in papers, books, computers, and various other forms of technology. She walks in carefully to see a clear board with pictures and information…on her. Aurora sets her clutch on the floor as she starts to look over the data they have scattered on her. Bank records, birth certificates, family, occupations…the list continues on. _Who are these people? And what do they want with me?_ Aurora's hands clench into fists as anger starts to boil within her. She hears footsteps walk towards the room and she spins around, holding up her heels as a weapon.

Mr. Reese walks in behind Finch. They stare at the woman in shock. She notices that the other man walks with a limp, but her grip on the shoes only tightens.

"Who are you?" Finch asks in a polite manner.

"I think you know. I believe I'm the one who should be asking that." she replies curtly.

"I'm sure you already know Mr. Reese." he states simply as he limps over to the computer on the table. "I'm Mr. Finch. Now, Miss Shade, how did you find this place?"

"I didn't see you follow me. I made sure of it." Reese tells her.

"Obviously you didn't check well enough. Check your jacket, just under your collar." she shrugs.

John looks at her quizzically before cautiously placing a hand under his suit collar. His face tries to suppress a shocked expression as his fingers close around the bug. He holds his hand out in front of him, showing Finch the device in his palm. Harold looks up at Aurora with a slightly amused expression. "A tracker?" She simply nods, "Something my dad helped me make."

"Why?" Reese asks.

"No one with your skill set shows up out of nowhere. I wasn't about to let you get away so easily."

"How did you even get this on me?"

"I 'tripped', remember?" She raises an eyebrow at him. "Now, I'd like to know why I'm being tracked myself."

Aurora gestures to the clear board behind her. Mr. Finch ignores her question only for a moment as he hastily types away at the keyboard in front of him. He looks back up at her and gestures for her to come and look at the screen. Curiously, yet cautiously, Aurora walks over to him. Her hazel eyes meet his blue ones briefly before looking at the picture displayed. She sees a man in his late-fifties. The man's light brown hair has streaks of grey throughout; his green eyes have a slight dull tint to them. She looks up from the picture to find the man's name.

"Oh, God." she murmurs.

"You know who this man is." Finch states beside her gently.

"Mr. Clarevoy. He was a business associate of my father's."

"Why would he hire someone to kill you?"

She shakes her head lightly with a dry laugh. "Not kill me. Those men tonight were not there to kill me. They were going to take me to their 'employer'."

"Alright, then why would he go to this much trouble to get your attention, Miss Shade?"

She turns to look at Finch who holds genuine curiosity in his eyes. She sighs softly before launching into a brief back-story. "Mr. Patrick Clarevoy, as I've just stated, was a business partner of my father's… However, judging by your information, I'm sure you already knew that."

Aurora starts to pace around the room. "Before my father died eight years ago, he entrusted his company to me. I wasn't quite sure of what to do with this responsibility, so I made a family friend the consulting CEO-I still own the rights to the company, but he goes to meetings and makes decisions with me about what's best and yadda, yadda. Anyway, I can only assume the Patrick was furious with my ultimate decision. He needs me alive so I can make him CEO."

"Why didn't he just try to take out your friend? Just pointing in out." Reese adds hastily as she glares at him.

Finch stifles a small chuckle as he helps to elaborate. "He knows that she'd only pick out someone else before him. Why waste time and resources if you can simply take care of the heart of the problem?"

"Exactly…at least, I think that's his plan." Aurora says, furrowing her head in frustration. "So, how do we stop him?"

Finch stares at her in perplexity. "_We_?"

"Yes, we. I know what you're doing and it happens to involve me. I want to help. Besides, you can't exactly ask me to sit out on this one." she points out.

Finch opens his mouth to protest when he realizes there's no point. _That's a losing battle._ He looks back at the picture of Mr. Clarevoy. "I would think that he will eventually find a way to 'kidnap' you-for a lack of a better word. Being the headstrong person you are, you will refuse his proposal, and, at that time, he will threaten you. I've already found enough on him to put him away for a good few years, but after this he'll have to stay even longer." He walks over to Reese and looks at Aurora. "Are you sure you're willing to do this, Miss Shade?"

She smiles gleefully at the two men. "Absolutely. When do we start?"

* * *

**I think I'll leave it there for now. I want reviews for this please. I hope you decide to stick around for the rest of their relationship pans out. Thanks for reading!**


	2. 2 Propositions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Person of Interest. I only own Aurora.**

* * *

"Miss Shade?" a voice calls out.

Aurora jumps slightly before she realizes it's only Finch talking to her through the earpiece.

"Yeah, Finch?" she replies, her irritation receding.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Too late to back out now, isn't it?"

No response is given. Aurora smirks grimly at the foreboding situation. _He's going to find me; Patrick always gets what he wants._ She glances around at the people walking by, wondering who's working for Clarevoy. She notices a small camera peering down at her from a lamp post; she waves slightly, knowing Finch is watching on the other side.

He feels his lips twitch upward into an involuntary smile. Finch looks at Aurora one last time before searching through the rest of the park. He spots Mr. Reese a few yards away from her, ready to follow Clarevoy's men at a moment's notice. Finch's trained eye sees a familiar set of men in suits making their way over to Aurora.

"John?"

"Yes, Harold?"

"Three men seem to be advancing on Miss Shade… They appear to be the same men from the other night."

"I'm on it."

Aurora glances up through her sunglasses in time to see the three familiar faces heading towards her. She pretends not to see them as she stands up and begins to leave. The leader grabs her upper left arm forcefully, yanking her back to him. Aurora flinches inwardly but doesn't let it show.

"Hello, boys." she breathes. "Back for another round?"

She smiles faintly at the memory of the previous night.

"Why, when you've already lost?" he snarls in her ear.

She feels something jab into her side. With a quick glance, she sees a hand gun threatening to go off at any moment in the hands of this man. She sighs silently at their pathetic attempts to scare her.

"Where are you taking me?" Aurora asks him.

"Oh, you'll see soon enough. Someone wants to have a chat with you."

He shoves her forward, tightening the grip on her arm. The other two follow closely behind, just in case she decides to run. _No chance of that; Patrick has to be stopped… Besides, Mr. Reese will "rescue" me._

Finch and Reese watch as the men lead her to a car. One opens the door as the leader hits her in the back on the head with his gun. As she falls limp, the third puts a black bag over her head. Finch flinches slightly as Aurora loses her grip on consciousness.

"Finch? Do I follow?" Reese asks.

"Yes. I'm afraid Miss Shade will need more help than we anticipated."

"Should we call in our detectives?"

Finch purses his lips briefly. He watches the car start to drive away. "I'll contact them. I suggest you start following them, Mr. Reese."

"Worried, Finch?" he jokes.

"I will be if you don't get there in time." Harold retorts.

Reese smirks half-heartedly before ending the conversation. _Why is Harold so tense? This is simply another victim, another number. _He swiftly gets into his car as he sets off after them.

Harold follows Aurora's car throughout the city, thanks to the Machine's broad sight. _Am I worried?_ He frowns at the thought. _No, of course not. Miss Shade is simply another number; Mr. Reese will get to her in time. _He pulls out his cell and starts to call Detectives Carter and Fusco.

~ * (*) * (*) * ~

The black bag is ripped roughly off of Aurora's head. She blinks rapidly, trying to make her eyes adjust. She notices that she's in a slightly run-down restaurant kitchen. Her arms are tied together behind the back of a chair; her feet are tied in the same fashion. She watches as the three men leave her in the silent room.

Aurora glances around for any working cameras and frowns when she sees none. She tilts her head and uses her shoulder to activate the earpiece.

"Finch?" she whispers, her voice barely loud enough to create an echo.

"Miss Shade? Where are you?" his calm voice asks.

"I'm… I'm not sure. I'm in some sort of kitchen." she pauses. "Where's Reese?"

"He should be on his way. You have nothing to worry about."

"No, I have _a lot _to worry about. Wait-I hear someone coming."

To her relief, Finch says nothing as the door to her location opens. A tall, thin man in a grey tailored suit walks in; his brown hair shows signs of his age and his green eyes dulled in the lighting. Patrick Clarevoy pulls a chair over to sit in front of Aurora.

"Hey, Sweetheart. How've you been?" he smiles cheerfully at her.

Aurora struggles slightly with loosening her bonds. She meets his gaze directly, "I'd be a hell of a lot better if I wasn't tied up."

His smile falters as he purses his lips. "Well, there's nothing I can do about that." Aurora rolls her eyes in annoyance. In her ear, she hears Finch whisper softly, "Mr. Reese is on his way. He's less than five minutes from your location."

Aurora continues to look at Patrick expectantly, waiting for him to get to the heart of the matter. He leans back in the chair and clasps his hands together.

"Aurora, we've known each other for quite some time; hell, your dad and I knew each other in high school-"

"Let's just cut the crap; the answer is no." she cuts him off.

"No?"

"You're not getting the company." she states firmly.

Aurora watches as Patrick Clarevoy's eyes darken tremendously. She isn't able to suppress a violent tremor as it makes its way down her spine. He leans towards her, attempting to appear menacing.

"Now, listen here, Aurora. This company rightfully belongs to me. Your father obviously made a terrible mistake."

"Wrong." she snarls. "He knew exactly what he was doing when he entrusted it solely to me. I knew that giving Sean a hand of it was the right thing to do. It was to keep you from destroying the very thing my father had worked so hard to create; the very thing he cherished."

Clarevoy allows rage and anger to consume him as he brings his hand across her pale cheek. Her head whips to the side as the taste of blood slowly starts to fill her mouth. She turns her gaze back to Clarevoy as she glares at him.

"You stupid girl," he sneers, "You're just like him. He always made the wrong choices." Aurora continues to glare at him as he sighs loudly. "It's a pity that I can't just kill you…not yet, anyway. I need you to give me the codes to the files that will make me become the sole owner of your father's company."

"Never. I'll die before giving you access. So, go ahead, kill me."

As Clarevoy's rage gets the best of him and begins to pull a gun out of his holster, the door gets kicked open as one of his men gets tossed in and lands with a sickening thud. Aurora looks up to see Mr. Reese in the doorway. Clarevoy turns around to attempt a getting a shot at Reese. However, by the time Clarevoy manages to lift his gun to aim, Reese has already shot a bullet through his right shoulder; Clarevoy yelps out at the sudden pain.

Reese makes his way over to the man who is gripping his now wounded shoulder. He leans over Clarevoy and covers his mouth and nose; the moment Reese does this, Clarevoy starts to thrash violently in Reese's grasp. After a minute or so passes by, Patrick's movements cease and he falls unconscious.

Mr. Reese heads over to Aurora who stares at him with a slightly annoyed expression fixed upon her face. He walks behind her to free her arms; when he finishes and reaches her feet, she looks at his face with a tiny smirk.

"Yes?" he asks her.

"What the hell took you so long, Reese?" she teases.

He smiles lightly. "Traffic. You know what it's like."

"True… You still could've been quicker about it though."

"I'll remember that for next time, Aurora."

"Next time?" she stares up at him as he stands in front of her.

He simply smiles at her as he grabs a hold of her wrist. While he leads her out of the restaurant, he taps the device in his ear. "Finch?"

"Yes, Mr. Reese?" Harold replies.

"I have her."

"Good. You may want to think about leaving; our detectives are on their way."

"Did you give Carter the evidence against Clarevoy?"

"Mr. Reese…do you doubt me?"

Reese smiles. "Of course not, Finch." A silence befalls the two of them. Reese seizes the moment to get Aurora into his car. She slides effortlessly into the passenger's seat.

"Is she alright?" Harold's voice returns as Reese circles around to the driver's side.

"All-in-all, yeah. A few bruises maybe. He hit her cheek pretty hard though; I heard it in the next room. Her mental health seems fine."

"Where are you taking her?"

"…We'll see you in a bit, Harold."

Reese taps the earpiece again, ending the conversation. He gets into the driver's seat and takes off towards the library. He watches as Aurora turns her head slightly in his direction.

"Finch's name is Harold?" she asks, the corners of her mouth turning upwards.

"Yes."

"Huh… So, what's yours?"

"John."

"John Reese and Harold Finch…. Yours sounds a bit more…normal…ordinary."

He laughs. "What's wrong with Finch's name?"

"Nothing. I just… didn't expect it to be Harold..." she thinks for a minute. "Maybe a Michael, but not Harold. It sort of suits him, though."

A comfort able silence fills the car. Aurora absentmindedly rubs her wrists where the ropes held her. She eventually looks down to see angry red marks ruining her pale complexion.

"Are you alright?" Reese asks her.

"Yeah, it's my own fault for struggling against the bonds." She shrugs, "It'll fade."

"Finch's going to kill me." he chuckles.

"And why would he do that?"

"I told him you were fine."

"Why would he care? Besides, I _am_ fine." she mumbles.

"Finch feels…protective of you. At least, I think so. You must've done something fairly special for him to worry this much."

He glances over at her. She continues to gaze out the window, watching the city rush by.

"So, what do you do?'

She looks over at him with a sarcastic expression on her face. "Don't you already know?"

"Harold doesn't tell me everything. Only things he deems important to the case."

"Right." she rolls her eyes with a sigh.

Reese waits for an answer to his question as the car becomes silent once again. Aurora shifts a little in the passenger's seat, knowing that he's still waiting. She purses her lips gently before launching into a small summary of her life.

"Currently, I'm a musical tutor; I'm a vocal coach and pianist. What Finch would find interesting there is a mystery.

"My father became a wealthy software designer shortly before I was born. He was absolutely brilliant with computers, or any sort of technology for that matter; everything that I know in the world of technology is thanks to him. As a result of my quick-learned knowledge, I managed to 'infiltrate' several databases at the age of ten."

She pauses briefly to glance over at Reese. He looks at her with a smirk.

"You're a hacker?"

Aurora wrinkles her nose as her face scrunches up as if she's disgusted. She stares back out the window as she mutters, "Hack is such an ugly word." She faintly hears John chuckle next to her. After a few minutes of silence, Reese throws out an idea.

"Maybe that's why Harold has an interest in you. If you could break through firewalls at that age, you'd stand out considerably in his eyes." He looks over to see her paying no attention to him. "Do you still do it?"

She turns to meet his gaze briefly before his eyes return to the road. "Not anymore. I don't make a habit of it." She sighs softly, "I nearly got caught once. It was some small thing, but I couldn't afford to be caught, not at that point in time… Besides, if I was caught, I don't think I'd've been able to keep my 'attitude problem' in check." She rolls her eyes.

"'Attitude problem'?"

"Yeah, throughout school I was told that I needed an 'attitude adjustment'; I don't take bullshit well, so I started taking defensive fighting classes to let my anger out. I thought it was better than getting into t fight with teachers and students." she shrugs with indifference.

She sees Reese nod slightly understanding. She settles back into the seat, finished with her story for now. _That's all for now, John. I have much more to tell, just not right now. _She sees the library come into view as they turn the corner. John parks a little ways away from it. He walks around the car to help Aurora out of it before heading to meet Finch.

As they start to enter the building, Aurora asks something that she's been wondering since they left the restaurant. "John, what did you mean about 'next time'?"

He stops abruptly, remembering the comment he made. He smiles at her, "You'll understand shortly. Come on, we don't want to keep Harold waiting, do we?"

"No, I guess we wouldn't." she says as she shakes her head.

She starts to head up the stairs when Reese clears his throat. He stands in front of the elevator.

"We know who you are. We can head up in this." he tells her, trying to hide a smirk.

Her lips tighten into a firm line as she tries to hide her embarrassment. She walks past Reese into the elevator, but not before lightly hitting his arm for the not-so-well-hidden smirk. He laughs softly as he joins her by her side. "I guess I deserved that." he whispers.

"Yeah, you did." she replies.

He looks over to see Aurora smiling and can't help but follow suit. They remain silent as they ride up to meet Finch. They stop on the floor and Reese gets out first. He turns back to Aurora who appears hesitant to enter the room at first. After a moment, she comes to her senses and joins Reese by his side. They walk into the room Aurora ventured into the night she followed John.

The first thing they notice when they enter the room is Finch at his computer, as always. He glances up to see the two of them approaching. He takes time to notice the lingering red mark on Aurora's cheek, the marks on her wrists and ankles. He stands up and looks at Reese.

"Welcome back. To be honest, I wasn't expecting you, Miss Shade." he says to her.

"Nice to see you too, Harold." she smirks. She watches his gaze flicker to John before looking back. "I don't know why I'm here either, to be honest."

"Mr. Reese-"

"Finch, I have an idea, a suggestion." Reese interjects, cutting him off.

"And what would that be?"

"What would you think of letting Aurora join us?"

* * *

**And I'll leave it there. I seriously want your opinion on that final question. I don't really have much to say here at the end… I may not be able to update soon. I have a lot of school work and things of that nature coming up, but don't worry, I won't stop writing to this story. I want reviews, please!**


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